


Orange Thunder

by cafe80s



Category: Phineas and Ferb
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, F/M, Gen, Superheroes, Supervillains
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-05-31 13:40:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15120596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cafe80s/pseuds/cafe80s
Summary: A superhero is saving Danville, yet nobody knows it’s identity. It’s not The Beak, but it may just be related to the creators.





	1. Chapter 1

“Khakapeüpeü is back?”

“You’re kidding,” Phineas said as he looked at the Fireside Girls Gazette, which sat in front of Ferb. “Hope there’s a superhero this time.”

Ferb looked up at his brother, who was standing above him. “Y’know, we could do it again.”

“Ferb, we’ve already done it. He knows who we are. We can’t defeat him again.”

“Yes, but we could create a new superhero and keep his identity under wraps forever.”

Phineas thought for a moment, and then pushed the thought away. “Nah. Maybe there’s another group of kids like ours that could create a superhero. We did it seven years ago, and you know we don’t do stuff twice. Well, except for the rollercoaster, but that one was a musical the second time.”

“Alright,” Ferb said, “how about a musical superhero?”

Phineas looked at his brother with distaste. “Well, it’s original, but I honestly don’t think we should.” He left the kitchen and bounded upstairs. 

He shut the door behind him after he entered his bedroom. He pulled a stretchy orange garment from under his mattress and lay it on top of his bed. 

“Alright, Orange Thunder,” he said. “Don’t fail me now.”

__________________

So, Phineas Flynn was a secret superhero. He flew through town, defeating villains that pushed their way through Danville. And absolutely nobody knew it was him, not even Ferb or Isabella.

The headpiece of his suit morphed his face into a somewhat normal shaped head, instead of his triangular one, making him unrecognisable from the people who knew him. And whenever he spoke, the voice modulator technology from The Beak would kick in, and he’d have a voice that sounded soft and silky, to match his suave exterior.

But how exactly did Orange Thunder originate?

On a chilly day in early January, Phineas began reminiscing about the summer they did everything. Of course, every summer since then they had done cool things, but it was the magnitude of the first one that made it so memorable. The rollercoaster, the haunted house, the giant leaf pile, the pharmacist-zombie apocalypse… it was all just so great.

The Beak stood out in his memory more than anything. He just loved beating Khakapeüpeü to a pulp, and saving the citizens of Danville. All because of a skate track obstacle course of doom that was too dangerous to ride.

So, Phineas decided to secretly create a superhero outfit for himself. He chose orange because of his signature color, and the name Orange Thunder sounded gnarly. True, it wasn’t correct, but Phineas just felt that it was right.

Since the day he created the costume, he found villains that came into Danville, and defeated them. He became well known, and now that Khakapeüpeü was back, people in the streets were calling out for him.

Phineas pulled on the stretchy fabric of his suit and headpiece, then opened his bedroom window to fly out of.

 _I really need a lair,_ he thought to himself.

He flew over the suburbs;his cape flapping behind him, and the lycra shone in the bright July sunlight.

He scanned the skyline for any signs of the khaki-coloured villain, and saw that the Khaka-crawler was rebuilt, with the villain himself standing inside it and shaking his fist at the town. Phineas flew down to the street where he was.

As his feet hit the ground, nearby pedestrians cheered for their hero.

”Hey, what are you doing back here, Khakapeüpeü?” Phineas asked.

”Oh, I’m here to ruin everybody’s day again, thank you very much.”

”Dude, that was like seven years ago. Why has it taken so long?”

The villain hesitated. “That’s none of your business, Orange Thunder. Is that little Miss Garcia-Shapiro still here? I’ve got her next headline!”

Phineas frowned. “You’re real behind, dude. Why don’t I just fight you and get this over with?”

”Sounds good to me,” said Khakapeüpeü, and his machine jumped into action, swinging its giant metal limbs at Orange Thunder. Phineas managed to grab ahold of one of them, and tore it from the machine.

”No, you can’t destroy my Khaka-crawler already! We’ve been fighting for like thirty seconds!”

”That’s my job, dude,” Phineas said, while lifting up the metal limb and swinging it at Khakapeüpeü. The villian was sent crashing into the tall building behind him. The onlookers cheered.

Khakapeüpeü hopped out of his now crushed machine, and strode over to Phineas. “I guess that’s all for today. But I’ll be back tomorrow, thank you very much!” He walked past Phineas, in the direction of the suburbs.

”Orange Thunder?” Phineas heard a familiar voice behind him.

He turned to face the person who had just addressed him, finding that it was Isabella.

”Oh! Uh, hey. You’re Isabella, right?”

She blushed. “Yeah. Well… I just wanted to thank you for saving m– uh, everybody today. I know he’s not that much of a villain, but I’m still thankful.” She smiled up at him.

Phineas smiled back. “Thanks. I thought for sure we’d gotten rid of him all those years ago, but I can defeat him this time.”

Isabella placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure you will,” she said. “I believe in you.”

Phineas blushed underneath his suit. “Thank you.” He checked the time. “Whoops, gotta go!”

Isabella waved goodbye as he took off into the sky.

He flew through the clouds, and back into the window of his room. He quickly took off his suit and shoved it under his bed again.

_Isabella always seems nervous around Orange Thunder. I wonder if it’s because she likes both of me. Maybe if she knew it was me too, she would act differently._

Phineas headed back downstairs and saw Ferb still sitting at the dining table, but now with his phone in his hand.

”You’re back?” Ferb said, looking up at his brother.

”Got hungry,” the redhead replied, looking in the fridge for a snack. “Ooh, pasta!”

Ferb smirked and shook his head, just as the doorbell rang.

”Were you expecting somebody?” Phineas asked as he walked through to the front door. Ferb shook his head.

He opened the door to see Isabella standing on the other side, beaming. Phineas smiled back.

”Hi Phineas,” she said. “Whatcha doin’?”

”Just chilling,” Phineas said, opening the door wider for her to come inside.

”Did you hear about Khakapeüpeü coming back?”

”Yeah, I heard but I didn’t see him.”

”I’m surprised you two didn’t build another superhero to defeat him. I mean, maybe you didn’t because you knew that Orange Thunder was gonna be there.”

Ferb looked at his brother as if he would explain what had happened between the two earlier that morning, but Phineas looked back at Isabella and shrugged.

”Well…” he quickly looked at Ferb again, and sighed. “The truth is, I didn’t really want to defeat him a second time.”

Isabella was taken aback. “You didn’t _want_ to?”

Phineas shrugged again. “He would have expected us. Maybe Orange Thunder wanted to swoop in. I mean, this is his era in Danville. We could just… let him do his thing.” He itched his ear, which was his tic whenever he lied.

He wanted so badly to change the subject, but they were too far in to do anything about it.

”Who do you think he is? Like, what’s his secret identity?” Isabella said, sitting in a chair at the table.

”Probably some normal kid who’s in high school.” Phineas said. “Could be Django, for all we know.”

Isabella laughed. “Sure, why not? I’ve met him several times, and he definitely isn’t like Django.”

Phineas smiled softly, and shrugged again. “I dunno, maybe he’ll reveal himself at some point.”

Isabella checked the time. “I should probably head back home,” she said as she stood up.

”You’ve only been here for a little while,” Phineas said.

”Oh, I was on my way back from seeing the fight in town. Just thought I’d come over and say hello.” She took Phineas’s hands and kissed him softly on the cheek.

They looked into each other’s eyes for a moment, before Isabella slowly let go of his hands and went for the door.

”I’ll see you later?” She asked with her hand on the doorknob.

Phineas nodded. “Yeah.”

She smiled, and disappeared out the door. Phineas looked back at his brother to see him smirking.

”What?”

”Why don’t you just ask her out? You two have been flirting with each other for like, a year now. She likes you, and I know you like her. Why don’t you just ask her out on a date?”

”Ugh, Ferb! I have to wait for the right moment! She’s perfect, I can’t just go up and ask her. It has to be special.”

Ferb rolled his eyes, smiled, and shook his head again.


	2. Chapter 2

_Breaking: Khakapeüpeü wreaking havoc again in downtown Danville._

Phineas breathed in, and pulled on his suit again. Khakapeüpeü kept his promise by coming back today. At least he could fight him, and see if he would be back for another day. Or, his wife would throw another chair at him, and he’d be forced to go home with her.

Phineas chuckled as he thought about it. It seemed silly; a grown man being told by his wife what to do. It was like he was scared of her. His _wife._

He quickly pulled on his headpiece, and escaped out his bedroom window. The supersuit he created allowed him to perform like a human that had been blessed with real powers, even though he was still a normal kid. His real powers were being able to create the suit in the first place. Not many kids, or even adults, could do what he had done.

The suit included heightened abilities such as flying, strength, and stamina. Phineas had installed jets near his hips so that it would appear he was flying by himself, but at a closer look would reveal his fake powers. His suit was made so that it was flattering to his muscles, creating an illusion that he really was that strong. And the stamina part? Well, the suit had a sort of ‘auto-pilot’ mode, which mimicked the pattern at which Phineas moved, so that if he became less able, the suit would do more of the work.

Creating the suit hadn’t been easy, especially while trying to keep it hidden, but now that it was more or less finished, Phineas couldn’t have been happier. He was always looking for what he could have added to it, no matter what magnitude. A hidden grappling hook? Sure, easy! Invisibility function? Yeah, might take a week, but he’d get there.

He slowed down as he approached his villain. ”So, we meet again!” Phineas called to him. “What have you got in store for today?”

”Oh, good afternoon, Orange Thunder. I was beginning to think you weren’t going to show up. I’ve been here for twenty minutes!”

Phineas raised his eyebrow at Khakapeüpeü, then floated up to him so they were at each other’s eye level.

”You’ve already been the villain in this city, dude. You’ve been defeated before. Why did you suddenly think you could come back?” Phineas asked, building up the tension for the fight.

The villain shrugged. “Thought it would be fun.”

”Well, maybe you’ll have fun losing again,” Phineas said, darting down to unhook one of the jets from his floating machine. _Geez, this wasn’t built to last. He definitely isn’t good at creating his battle gear._

“That took me hours to build!” Khakapeüpeü cried from above. “No fair!”

After successfully ripping out one of the jets, he moved to the next one. The lack of jets pushing the machine upwards made it fall back down slowly, so Phineas ripped them all out as quickly as he could without getting squashed.

Phineas flew up to where the villain stood, and pulled him up by his shirt, watching the beads of sweat appear on his forehead. He could tell the man was slightly scared.

The superhero opened his mouth to speak his final words, but was interrupted by a wooden chair knocking the villain out of his hands. He looked over at the source of the chair, and saw a small, dark haired woman with her hands on her hips. Phineas sighed in relief that it was over.

Khakapeüpeü looked even more scared now, seeing his wife with her brows furrowed and a giant frown on her face.

”You get over here now!” She screeched. Khakapeüpeü’s head popped up over the side of his machine, and he walked over to her with his head down.

She smacked him as he stood beside her. “Sorry about him, Mr Thunder,” she said with a soft Southern accent.

”Oh, uh…” Phineas started.

”He was supposed to be takin’ me shoppin’ again,” she said, more sharply. “Come on, you.” She took him by the ear, and they walked down the street.

Citizens looked back at Orange Thunder, and cheered, even though he really didn’t do anything to defeat the villain.

”Or-ange Thun-der! Or-ange Thun-der!” They chanted. It made Phineas smile.

”Thank you, citizens of Danville!” He called down to the street as he shot upwards. He flew home, reflecting on the fight. He was glad that Khakapeüpeü was defeated, but he did feel annoyed that it wasn’t him that did it.

_There’s always the next villain._

Phineas slowed down when he got to his house, and slid in the bedroom window. He pulled off his headpiece, and saw Isabella sitting on his bed, her hands covering her gaping mouth. She started to breathe heavily, and was shaking slightly.

”What’s going-- oh, right…”

”You’re… you’re him!” Isabella managed to squeak. “You’re Orange Thunder!”

Phineas looked himself up and down. “Uh… yeah.”

Isabella sat in front of him with her eyes wide open, staring at him. He sat next to her, and put his arm around her.

”It’s just me! Don’t be afraid.”

”I’m - I’m not afraid of you,” she said. “I’m just… surprised.”

“Well, it’s a surprise for both of us. You’re the only one who knows, so far.”

Isabella looked up. “Really?”

Phineas nodded, and heard Ferb’s footsteps up the staircase.

”Shit!” Phineas whispered, starting to take off his suit. “He doesn’t know. Pretend like we were just making out and I’m partially naked!”

”What?!”

“Just do it!” He hissed, still fumbling. He managed to get it off his feet and shove it under his bed just as the door handle turned. Phineas quickly sat on the bed next to Isabella, putting his hand on her waist.

Ferb opened the door and saw his brother and Isabella. He didn’t know where to look.

Phineas chuckled nervously and grabbed a shirt from nearby. “Uh… what’s going on, Ferb?”

”Could ask you the same thing,” Ferb replied. “Are you two…”

”Nope,” Phineas cut him off, and looked at Isabella. “We aren’t.”

”Well, I just came up to tell you that there’s an afternoon snack in the living room.”

Phineas nodded slowly. “We’ll be down soon.”

Ferb raised an eyebrow at Isabella, then closed the door. Isabella looked at Phineas.

”What in the fresh hell was that all about?”

”I panicked, I’m sorry. I just got flustered because that’s the closest call I’ve had so far. It didn’t really help that you’re here.”

”Oh, uh… sorry.”

”No, no, it’s okay,” said Phineas. “But why are you here anyways?”

”Well, I came over, and Ferb told me you were up here, so I came and sat on your bed, looking around at your room, and then… well, the whole Orange thing happened.”

“Ah, right. Also, I’m sorry about the ‘making out’ comment,” Phineas said with a nervous chuckle. “I didn’t _really_ mean it, but it was the first thing that came into my head.”

He pulled on the shirt that was in his hands, and found some jeans to wear too.

”Cute,” Isabella said, looking him up and down.

”Huh?” Phineas said. “Oh, uh… thanks.”

The two teenagers travelled downstairs to where the food was. The dining table was laden with club sandwiches, cookies, cupcakes, and fruit platters. They took a plate full of food each and headed out to the backyard.

Phineas sat under the tree, and Isabella sat next to him, leaving no gap. She leaned on his shoulder.

”Why haven’t you told Ferb about Orange Thunder?”

Phineas sighed. “I dunno. I guess it would be pretty different if he did know. I just never told him, and he doesn’t know.”

”Do you think you will, now that I know?”

Phineas looked down at Isabella, her dark hair falling onto his chest. “I’m not sure.”

”Well, whatever you decide… I’m proud of you.”

”Thanks, Izzy.”

____________________

After a while of sitting under the tree eating their afternoon snack, Isabella began asking about the superhero.

”So, what’s his origin? How did you create him without Ferb?”

”Well, I was reminiscing about the summer when we were about ten years old. Y’know, when we created The Beak? And I really wanted to make a new hero. Orange Thunder was immediately what came into my head, and it just stuck. It took ages to finish my suit; heck, I’m still finishing it. But I just went around town and thwarted villains, and helped keep Danville safe.”

”How did you make the head so that you don’t look like yourself?”

”Morphing technology I created. It morphs my bones and the skin on my face to make it look like somebody else. Also, the voice sounds different because, of course, I used a modulator like the one from The Beak suit.”

”That’s cool,” Isabella said. “But why did you want to be so different from yourself?”

“Every superhero has a secret identity, Izzy. You really think I could have just gone around with my giant triangle head and not be recognised?”

”I suppose…” Isabella replied. “Can I confess something?”

Phineas narrowed his eyebrows. “Uh… sure.”

”I kinda had a crush on Orange Thunder, because I didn’t realise you were him.”

Phineas chuckled. “ _That’s_ why you were always so nervous around me.” He hesitated, wondering if he should ask the question he had in mind.

”Do you like _me_ though?”

Isabella scoffed. “Of course I like you. You know that. _Everyone_ knows that.”

The sliding door opened, and Ferb emerged. He smiled at the two, and walked over.

”Parents are talking about boring antique stuff. Mind if I join you?”

”Uh, sure,” Phineas said, gesturing. Isabella moved off his shoulder, and Phineas felt as if Ferb had ruined their moment.

“What’s going on?”

”Nothin’,” Phineas said, plucking the grass.

”Wanna head to Googolplex? It’s air conditioned,” Ferb asked.

The redhead looked down at Isabella. “What do you think? You wanna come?”

”Yeah, sounds good,” she said. “I’ll just go across the street and grab my purse before we go.”

She stood up, and exited through the side gate. Ferb smirked at his brother.

”Again, what?”

”Please. Just ask her out. Everyone wants to hear you say ‘she’s my girlfriend’ instead of ‘she’s not my girlfriend’. Honestly, I’m sick of hearing you say it.”

”Alright, I’ll do it soon. But you aren’t gonna hassle me any more about it.” Phineas left the backyard and darted upstairs to get his wallet.

Isabella came back through the gate as Phineas came back into the backyard.

”Good to go?” Ferb asked.

”The mall awaits!” said Isabella with a grin.


	3. Chapter 3

Isabella chugged her bottle of water as the three teenagers sat in the food court. 

“You really can’t control yourself that well, can you?” Phineas said with a smile.

“I know,” Isabella said, looking at her large bag. “I just saw the sale sign and _had_ to go in there.”

Phineas chuckled. “It’ll all look great on you.”

“Thanks,” Isabella said, a light blush creeping onto her cheeks.

”Do we want to head back home now?” Ferb asked. “Personally, I’ve had enough of this place.”

Phineas and Isabella looked at each other, then to Ferb, and nodded simultaneously. They gathered their things and went to find Ferb’s car in the parking lot.

The group sang along to the radio as they drove, and their last song ended just as Ferb pulled into the driveway.

”Huh, what luck!” Phineas said, unbuckling his seatbelt.

”Hey, uh, do you wanna come over to mine, Phineas?”

Phineas briefly glanced at his brother before smiling at Isabella. “I’d love to.”

”Why don’t you bring your trunks? We can hang out in the pool, if you’d like.”

”Sure! I’ll just go and grab them.” Phineas darted inside, and pulled out his pair of swimming trunks and sunglasses. He bounded back downstairs to his brother and best friend.

”I’ll leave you to it, then?” Ferb said, smirking slightly.

”See you later, bro. Tell Mom I’m just across the street, yeah?”

”Sure thing.”

Phineas and Isabella walked across the street in the warm afternoon sun, hearing the distant sounds of traffic, and birds chirping in trees.

It was the perfect summer day, really. Relaxing with his best friend in her backyard, spending quality time alone with her… it was what he wished for.

They sat next to each other on the edge of the pool, feet dangling in the cool water.

”Can I offer you a cold drink?” Isabella asked, looking up at her best friend.

”Sure! What have you got?”

”Come and see!” She stood up, offering her hand to the boy. He took it, and she lead him into the kitchen.

Isabella rifled through the refrigerator, looking for some kind of beverage. “Ooh! We’ve got some Kool-Aid?”

Phineas scrunched his face. “How about some ice water?”

Isabella smiled with relief. “That sounds better.”

She reached into the freezer to find ice trays, and filled two glasses with water. She plopped a few ice cubes into each drink, and handed Phineas one as they headed back outside.

”Y’know, Ferb’s been kinda egging me on about something recently,” Phineas said, sliding into the pool. He gestured, encouraging Isabella to follow.

”Mm? What’s that, then?”

Phineas quietened his voice. ”Well… I don’t want to say what he said, because then it’s not perfect enough. Or romantic enough.”

”What was that?” Isabella asked, paddling closer towards him.

Phineas briefly shook his head, as if to shake his previous thought away. ”Listen, I was wondering… would you like to go on a date with me?”

Isabella immediately grinned. “Of course I would! Like… romantically?”

”Yes, romantically.” Phineas smiled warmly at her.

”Well in that case, you can definitely count me in,” she said, wrapping her wet arms around his neck. Phineas found his hands wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer.

”Quick question, is your mom home?”

”Nope.”

”Good,” Phineas said, leaning in and placing his lips on hers.

____________________

A few hours of pool fun later, the sun began to set. A beautiful orange light covered Danville, with peachy coloured clouds streaked over the horizon.

”Oh, wow! Look at that sunset!” Phineas said, climbing out of the pool.

”It’s beautiful,” Isabella replied, wrapping her towel around her hips.

”I should probably head home soon. Mom’s gonna be wondering where I am.”

”She probably knows you’re here. Besides, when are you anywhere else?”

Phineas gazed at his best friend. “Yeah, you’re right.”

”My mom doesn’t get home til 10, do you wanna stay here for dinner? We can make something together.”

“Sounds great!” Phineas said as they walked back into the house.

Isabella smiled at him. “Cool. I’m just gonna dry off and change clothes, so I’ll be back in a minute.” She closed her bedroom door behind her, and Phineas looked around at the photographs placed on shelves in the living room.

He noticed a large amount of photographs of him and Isabella as young kids. Both children grinning in every picture, having the best time. The colour green caught his attention, and saw the three of them (Ferb, Isabella and himself) in a photo with a gold frame. Isabella stood in the middle, grinning, with her arms around both boys, but leaning more toward the redhead.

Phineas smiled at the photo, and his attention turned to Isabella’s bedroom door opening.

”How about some pasta for dinner?” She asked as she emerged from her room.

”Yeah!” Phineas said, following Isabella into the kitchen. The raven-haired girl starting pulling out pots and packets from various cupboards, darting around the whole room.

”So, I’ve been thinking a lot about Orange Thunder since you told me about him this morning. Does he need a sidekick?”

Phineas looked up at Isabella. “What?”

”You know, like a superhero girlfriend or something.”

Phineas chuckled. “Oh, Orange Thunder fights solo. He doesn’t need any help from a sidekick. And, having a girlfriend who’s also a superhero might make it harder to keep the secret.”

Isabella smiled. “I was only joking. But doesn’t it get lonely? Don’t you wish you had someone with you?”

”Occasionally, there are times when I wish I had Ferb with me. He’s got a certain instinct that I don’t know where it comes from or what activates it, but at times I’m fighting and I just think, wow, Ferb would know exactly what to do.”

”I suppose it would more helpful if he knew, right?” Isabella asked, looking up into his eyes.

”I’ll think about it. I’ll tell him at some point, don’t worry.”


	4. Chapter 4

Phineas kissed Isabella goodnight as they stood on her porch.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, maybe?”

“Yeah.” Isabella looked at him, holding his hands loosely. “I don’t want you to go.”

Phineas smiled. “Well, I’ve gotta go home at some point!”

Isabella frowned, not finding what he said funny. 

“Hey, I’ll text you,” he said, gazing at her. “Goodnight.” He kissed her on her forehead, and squeezed her hand before crossing the street.

Isabella waited until he was inside to sigh in his absence. She absolutely loved spending time with him, and now that she considered them a thing, she loved it even more. Seeing him leave after such an eventful day felt strange, as if there was some sort of bond that couldn’t separate them.

She pushed the front door open and slid through the gap. She glanced over at the small collection of photographs that Phineas looked at earlier, and walked over to them to look at them too.

She picked up one in a small wooden frame, which had an image of the whole gang. It made her remember about Buford and Baljeet, and how the group of them had somehow not gotten together and hung out over summer.

Isabella placed the photograph back on the shelf with a sigh, and went back to her room.

_________________

Phineas shut the door behind him, and leaned against it. He didn’t want to leave, but Linda wanted him home before 10. He thought it was best he obeyed her instead of getting a telling-off the next morning.

Ferb sat atop the counter, legs dangling, phone in his hand. He looked up at his redheaded brother when he heard the door shut.

”How was it, romance boy?”

Phineas looked up, his heart racing. _How did he know?_ “Huh?”

”I’m joking. Good time?” Ferb asked.

”Yeah, it was pretty fun,” Phineas replied, walking toward the staircase. “We made dinner together.”

”Cute.” Ferb looked back down at his phone, his thumbs getting a big workout.

“I’m going to bed,” Phineas said, before Ferb hopped off the countertop and followed him upstairs.

”Did you do anything else?”

Phineas shook his head. “Literally all we did was swim and make dinner. My hands are still wrinkled, look!”

Ferb inspected the hands in front of him, and nodded. Phineas held the bedroom door open for him, and then closed it softly.

He sat across from Ferb on his bed, only seeing his outline in the dark bedroom. “I did what you wanted.”

Ferb sat upright. ”You asked her out?”

Phineas nodded, a smile growing on his face.

”What did she say?”

”Yes, of course! She totally likes me back. We haven’t planned an actual date yet, but it’ll probably be soon.”

”Do you know how long everybody has been waiting for this?” Ferb said, changing into his pajamas.

”Everyone’s been anticipating this?”

Ferb snickered. “You’re a bit oblivious sometimes,” he murmured under his breath.

________________

For the rest of the week, Phineas thought it was oddly calm in town. No villains, no burglaries, not even a cat stuck up a tree.

Was Danville finally safe from evil? Was every villain defeated?

Phineas felt strange. There was no hero work for him, but he needed to do _something_ as Orange Thunder. So, he rang up Isabella.

”Hey Phin, what’s going on?”

”Uh… well, there’s not much villainy happening in Danville.”

Isabella scoffed. ”Yeah, because you’re Orange Thunder and you’ve gotten rid of all of it.”

”No,” Phineas said. “I mean, _yes,_ but it just doesn’t feel right. It’s been an entire week without any evil. And it feels odd.”

”Maybe that’s it. Maybe you’ve actually defeated all the evil that there is. Perhaps there is no one left to fight.”

Phineas sighed. “You could be right. Ugh, I don’t know. Maybe I’m overthinking it. One could just pop up out of nowhere.”

”We can only hope!”

Phineas chuckled, and paused for a few seconds. “So, what have you been up to today?”

”Oh, not much. Bit of baking, and reading. How about you?”

”Thinking about the lack of evil in Danville.”

”Oh, come on, Phineas. You don’t usually get hung up on stuff like this. Whatever happened to Carpe Diem?”

Phineas hesitated again. “You’re right. But how am I going to seize the day when there’s - metaphorically - no day to seize?”

”It’ll happen, don’t worry,” Isabella said. “I’ve gotta go and help my mom. Talk later?”

”Yeah,” said Phineas. “See ya.”

He hung up the phone and lay back on his bed.

He just felt so unsatisfied. His victory with Khakapeüpeü was hollow, because he was barely a villain and because his wife came and dragged him away. Literally.

Phineas wanted a real villain. Someone who had real power and strength, and maybe even intelligence too.

Ferb opened the door and noticed his brother’s state.

”You alright? It’s not trouble with Isabella, is it?”

Phineas sat up. “What? Oh, definitely not. I just feel a little bit… empty.”

”Why’s that?”

”This summer hasn’t bought much action for me. I’m bored out of my mind, Ferb, and I can’t even think of any inventions. I can’t even think back on our old ones.”

Ferb’s smirk grew. “How about we round up the troops and attempt a build at something?”

Phineas nodded with a smile. “Sounds good.”

___________________

Buford and Baljeet arrived at the Flynn-Fletcher backyard a little while later, with Phineas, Ferb and Isabella lounging under the tree.

”We’ve been waiting!” Isabella said, checking her bare wrist.

”Sorry!” Buford said. “‘Jeet wanted to finish teachin’ me how to play chess! It’s a long game, just for the record.”

“We know,” Phineas and Isabella chorused.

”What are we doin’ here anyways?”

Phineas and Ferb looked at each other. “Well… I just really need to build something. I’m bored. And Ferb thought having you guys round might help with that.”

”So what are you thinking of building?” Baljeet asked.

”Something childish, I think,” Phineas stated. “I think a little childish invention might bring back some creativity.”

”How about a waterslide?” Isabella suggested.

”Yes! That’s perfect!” Phineas exclaimed. “Alright gang, lets get started. Cue the montage!”

Less than an hour later, the group had created a fun waterslide ride that towered high above the house.

”How about focus group testing before we try it out?”

“Not this time, Buford,” Phineas said. “Let’s just enjoy it! Come on!” They all climbed up the ladder to the top of the ride, and Phineas took Isabella’s hand as they both climbed into an inflatable.

“Woohoo!” Both teenagers cheered as they cascaded down the first waterslide. They landed with a splash in a shallow pool, and floated the rest of the way, toward the next slide. The three other teens splashed into the pool behind them.

”Oh, come on! Can you guys go like five minutes without the whole cutesy thing?” Buford exclaimed, seeing Isabella move herself onto Phineas’s lap in the inflatable.

”Don’t look then!” Isabella replied, laughing. She and Phineas dropped down the next slide, cheering again.

For the whole afternoon, the thought of evil didn’t even cross Phineas’s mind. Being with his best friends and having fun like kids had completely taken it off his mind.

Once their invention mysteriously disappeared, they sat under the tree with ice pops, relaxing and chatting mindlessly.

”So, what do you all think about Orange Thunder?” Baljeet asked.

”I think he’s pretty cool,” said Isabella. “It’s a shame there haven’t been any villains for like, a whole week. It’s been weird not having him around town.”

 _She took the thoughts right out of my brain,_ Phineas thought. _Thank goodness I don’t have to say much now._

”Who do you think he is?” Buford asked. “I reckon he’s a nobody. He sure looks like one.”

”Oh, you never know,” Phineas chimed in. “Like I’ve said to Ferb and Isabella; he could literally be anybody. Even someone we know, like Django. Or even Irving.”

”Yeah, but Irving isn’t nearly as suave as Orange Thunder,” Ferb said. “Perhaps he really is a nobody.”

Phineas always felt stressed when this conversation came up. He tried to speak as little as possible, or steer the conversation in a different direction. His secret life was far to developed for him to let anybody know.

”I just really want a villain to come.” Isabella said. “The fighting in town was like a nice little background noise, and now that it’s gone it’s eerily quiet, and it doesn’t feel right.”


	5. Chapter 5

Phineas tossed in his bed for hours that night. Not only was it because of the heat, but the growing anxiety he felt because of the lack of villains. 

He stared up at the ceiling with his arms out, overthinking everything. He looked over at Ferb, who was sound asleep, with Perry loosely under his arm. Phineas took his phone from his nightstand and squinted at the bright light it created. _Three thirty-two am._ He sighed, and texted Isabella.

_Wanna come round? Can’t sleep._

Surprisingly, Isabella started typing almost as soon as he sent it. 

_Me neither. Be there soon x_

He threw on a shirt and tiptoed downstairs. He quietly pulled the front door open, and sat on the steps outside, absorbing the moonlight and stars. It was beautiful. 

He saw Isabella close her front door, and jog across the street to him. He stood up as she approached him, and he took her hands. 

“What’s going on?”

He shrugged. “Come on. I’ve got something we can do.”

He walked around the side of the house, finding the square lattice nailed to the weatherboards. He began climbing it, reaching the roof, and gesturing for Isabella to follow him. She grinned, knowing what he wanted to do.

They sat on the apex of the roof, facing the city. The moon shone on roofs and trees with shiny leaves, and gave a glow to both teenagers’ faces.

“Do you ever want to go back?” Isabella asked, leaning on his shoulder.

”Where?”

”The moon.”

Phineas had a moment of thought. “I don’t know,” he said. “I mean, I’ve been plenty of times, is there anything more to see?”

”The dark side,” Isabella chuckled.

”Mm. Maybe.” He placed his hand around her waist, and began murmuring a song.

”Stars shining bright above you,” he sang softly. “Night breezes seem to whisper ‘I love you’…”

_Birds singing in the sycamore tree, dream a little dream of me…_

”Say nighty-night and kiss me,” Isabella sang. “Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me…”

_While I'm alone, blue as can be, dream a little dream of me…_

“Stars fading but I linger on, dear,” the two harmonised. “Still craving your kiss. I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear, just saying this...”

Phineas opened his eyes and inhaled sharply. Something was on fire in town.

”Phin? What’s going on?”

“Look,” he said, and pointed. “I’ve gotta go and help.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

”No, no. Stay here. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

”Alright,” she said, kissing him on the cheek. “Be safe.”

Phineas crawled into his bedroom window, pulling his supersuit out, making sure Ferb was still asleep. He pulled on his headpiece and crawled back up to the roof.

”I’ll be back soon.” He gently squeezed Isabella’s hand before launching off the roof, flying over the suburbs into town.

”Ah, Orange Thunder! I was wondering if you’d show up.” It was a slightly deep voice, but it sounded so friendly. Phineas instantly knew this was a new villain.

”Well, I guess I just have a sixth sense for danger and villains. Who are you?”

“Just call me Metal Schwarz.”

”Schwarz?” Phineas repeated.

”Yeah, it’s German for black.”

”Are you German?”

”No, I just liked the name.”

Phineas still hasn’t seen the villain, but the villain could obviously see him. He flew around trying to find him, and saw a massive man, wearing all black clothes, curly black hair and leather boots. Phineas landed on the ground in front of him, and the villain was almost double his own height.

The villain was shooting fire from his gloved hands, aiming at almost everything in his way.

Phineas became increasingly irritated by his actions. ”Hey dude, I get that you’re the villain, but do you really have to destroy my city?”

”Yes, yes I do. As a matter of fact, I plan on making it my _own_ city. I’m just doing a bit of remodeling before it happens.”

“Well, I won’t let you finish!” Phineas flew up to the villain and punched him square in the face, knocking him back slightly.

“Oh, you’re actually quite strong. To be completely honest, I wasn’t expecting that.”

Phineas breathed a small sigh of relief as he saw Metal Schwarz put his hand down, stopping the flames. The hero pulled an extinguisher from seemingly nowhere, and flew around, putting out the fires.

“But you’re not as strong as me,” the villain continued, and pushed Phineas against a wall, pinning him by his shoulders. Phineas squirmed, but as hard as he tried he couldn’t escape.

”What have you got, metal bones or something?”

”Actually, yeah. That’s how the metal part of my name came about.”

Phineas swung his legs up to the villain’s arms and slid out from underneath him. He jumped to his left arm, hung off it with his hands and dropped to the ground, walking away.

He noticed the villain’s confused expression as he turned to him, and smirked. He ran as fast as he could, taking flight, holding his strong fist out and knocking the villain to the ground.

Metal Schwarz lay on the ground, not completely knocked out but awake enough to hear the hero’s final speech.

”How about we have another go at this tomorrow? Does 3pm sound okay?”

The villain growled lightly, and Phineas chuckled. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He shot up into the sky again, and flew back to the suburbs.

Isabella was still on the roof, awaiting his return. “How did it go?”

”I think I’m gonna need to beef up my costume a bit.”

_________________

Surely enough, his story was on the front page of the Danville paper the next morning. He saw Lawrence reading it as he trotted downstairs for breakfast.

”I was wondering if you were gonna get up at all today,” said Linda as she saw him walk into the kitchen.

”I couldn’t really get to sleep last night. At least I’m up before the afternoon!” He looked at the clock that read 11:58. “Just.”

”You wanna start your day with breakfast or lunch?” Linda asked.

”Ha-ha,” said the redhead sarcastically. “I hear that Orange Thunder’s finally getting some hero work in after a whole week.”

”Yes, at four this morning!” Lawrence exclaimed. “It’s an odd time of the night. He was either up late, or up very early.”

”Probably up late. What did it say he was doing?”

Lawrence peered at the paper. “It says that he flew into town at quarter to four this morning, trying to stop a villain named ‘Metal Schwarz’ from setting fires in town. He was able to put out the fires and knock the villain out, but some witnesses say that they heard him say he wanted another go at him again later today.”

”Huh,” said Phineas. “Hope it goes well.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Izzy, what am I gonna do? The fight’s in an hour and I’m barely prepared.”

“You’ll be okay. Just go as you normally would and that’s what he’ll be expecting.”

Phineas switched his phone to the other ear. “But that’s the problem. If I go like normal, he’ll be expecting that and have something of an upper hand. If I go with something unexpected, I’ll have an advantage.”

“Go ask Ferb for help. I’m sure he’ll make you unbeatable.”

“Isabella, you know I can’t do that. I’ll just have to think of something myself, alright?” He heard Ferb walk up the stairs. “I’ve gotta go, but I’ll let you know how everything goes, okay?”

“Alright. Good luck.”

“Thanks.” Phineas hung up at the same moment Ferb opened the bedroom door. 

“Why is this always closed?” Ferb asked as he walked through.

“I have stuff to talk about with Isabella.”

Ferb scrunched up his face. “Gross.”

”You _know_ it’s not like that. Anyways, it’s sorted,” Phineas lied. “I am curious about something though.” He desperately wanted this conversation to be short and simple. He would’ve hated if Ferb suspected something about him.

”Mm? What about?”

”Well… hypothetically, if you were a celebrated superhero and fighting a new villain… what kind of an unexpected tactic would you go for?”

Ferb looked up in thought. “Perhaps a new power. Or something resembling a power.”

”Alright, I’ll uh… I’ll think about that.”

Ferb looked back at his brother. “Has this got something to do with Orange Thunder?”

Phineas’s heart began to race, and he itched his ear. “No, uh… no. I’m just thinking hypothetically about if _we_ made another superhero. And if there was also a new villain to go with it.”

“What, do you want to make a new hero?” Ferb asked, confused about his statement. It contradicted what he had talked about the week before.

”Possibly. I dunno, I’ll think about it. But thanks.”

Ferb raised an eyebrow as he left the room, and shut the door behind him. Phineas felt as if he was going to faint, as the conversation had almost drained his ability to cover his secret.

_God, I definitely need to tell Ferb at some point._

____________________

Phineas hadn’t been able to modify his suit before the fight, but he had enough adrenaline running through him that he felt alright about it. As he flew into town, he noticed that Metal Schwarz was already there, and had a small collection of black robots.

”Good afternoon, Thunder. Hope this isn’t your last battle. I quite enjoy our banter.”

”Yeah, me too,” Phineas replied. “But I do like fighting more. Bring it!”

The hero flew towards the villain, and pulled his grappling hook out. Metal Schwarz put his fists up and realised what his new nemesis was doing. Phineas swung the hook in his hand and threw it at the villain, but was surprised to have it ripped out of his hands.

”What on earth did you call that? What were you expecting to do?”

Phineas crosses his arms in front of his chest. ”It would have been a surprise, but I guess you’ll never know.”

”Hmm.” The villain took the grappling hook and swung it, trying to hit Phineas as he flew around the in air, trying to avoid the swinging weapon.

Phineas flew higher, and was caught. A thick, liquorice-like rope was tied around his torso, trapping his arms. He looked down and noticed it was Metal Schwarz’s own rope that had come out of his wrist. Phineas squirmed, but the rope didn’t budge.

“Try fighting now, loser!” The villain laughed, and threw the hero a few blocks down the street. He landed with a scrape on the concrete, ripping his supersuit in the knees and forearms.

 _Durable supersuit my ass,_ Phineas thought. The rope was still tied around him, and seemed to be getting tighter. He began to close his eyes. Passing out was very likely at this point.

His eyes snapped back open when he was picked up by a giant metal claw coming from his nemesis’s own arm. It pulled him up off the ground and against a concrete wall.

”Well, now we have our hero right where I want him, let’s see his secret identity, hm? Who’s the real Orange Thunder under here?” Metal Schwarz sniggered evilly and wiggled his fingers near Phineas’s headpiece.

”No! Stop it!”

”Huh?” Both Metal Schwarz and Orange Thunder looked toward the source of the outcry. It was Isabella! She had come to rescue him!

”Put him down right now! He doesn’t have to show his secret identity at all if he can’t say he will. And you can’t force him to either!”

”Who do you think you are?”

”I’m his g- I mean, I’m speaking on behalf of all his fans. I know that there’s some people out there who do really want to know his identity. But he’s Orange Thunder! Protector of Danville and the Tri-State area! Isn’t that enough?”

”Isabella…” Phineas managed to choke out.

The villain looked back at the teenage hero in his metal claw hand. “You know her?”

”Yes… she’s one of… my big— biggest fans…” Phineas sputtered. The rope was still tightening.

”Please let him go,” Isabella said, bringing Metal Schwarz’s attention back to her. He glared at her, then grunted and let Phineas go. He dropped to the ground, breathing in deeply with a wheeze.

“I’ll be back! And you’ll all soon bow down! You won’t have your precious hero to save you all. And you won’t have this girl to speak on behalf of you either!” The villain stormed away, making the ground shake slightly with his footsteps.

Isabella ran over to her boyfriend, and knelt over him. “Oh, Phineas,” she whispered quietly. “Are you alright?”

”I’ll be fine, Isabella. Just need… a couple more minutes… to get my … breathing okay again.”

Isabella looked around, and saw that the public were leaving the site, freeing up Isabella to talk to Phineas normally.

“You’ve gotta fell Ferb. You can’t do this on your own! There’s a real villain out here, and I don’t want you to get hurt any more than you already have.”

Phineas softened his gaze at Isabella. “You’re right. Today?”

”Today. Come on, I’ll walk you home.”

”How about we fly?”

Phineas held Isabella by the waist as they travelled back to the suburbs, feeling the moisture from the few clouds in the bright sky. He helped her through the window of his room.

”He’s not here, you’re good.”

”What?” Phineas said. “I thought you wanted me to tell him.”

”Yeah but like…” she gestured vaguely with her hands, “properly.”

____________________

Phineas kept quiet through most of the family dinner time. Even his ‘more of a man of action’ brother was talking more than him.

”You’re not talking much, honey, are you okay?” Linda asked, her face full of concern.

”Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. It’s just that my lungs seem a little tighter than usual.” He wasn’t lying.

”Oh, speaking of tight lungs,” Ferb interjected. “Did you hear about Orange Thunder’s fight today with Metal… what’s his face?”

”Heard he got beat pretty badly,” Phineas said, looking down at his plate.

”Yes, this new villain is absolutely more threatening than I had anticipated,” Lawrence said. “I hope Mr. Thunder’s alright now.”

”Pfft,” Phineas spat. “He’s probably just shaken it off, gone to bed early and called it a week. He’ll be back later, I guess.” He poked his leftover meatloaf with his fork, sighing slightly. He tossed it onto his plate with a small clatter, and stood up from the table, much to his family’s surprise.

He looked around at all of them; wide eyed and raised eyebrows, heads tilted up slightly. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m gonna head up to my room. Night, everyone.”

The sun was barely setting, but Phineas trudged up the stairs, shutting his bedroom door behind him. He saw a triangle headed boy in the mirror with dull eyes and dark circles, his hair messy and shining with oil. He looked away, falling onto his bed, the pillow soaking up his tears.

_________________

He awoke to his brother gently shaking him. ”Huh? What time is it?” Phineas asked as he tried to sit up.

”It’s almost 10pm,” Ferb said. “Are you alright? You must have passed out when you came upstairs.”

Guilt rushed back to Phineas’s stomach as he remembered the events from a few hours back. “Oh, uh… yeah. Probably blacked out.”

There were dried tears on his cheeks, but he was hoping that Ferb didn’t notice them. He sat opposite the red-headed boy on his own bed, resting his forearms on his knees, hunching slightly.

”Do you want to talk about it? You don’t have to, it’s just that it–”

”No, no,” Phineas interrupted. “You deserve the truth. And you’re my brother, you should know… everything.”

Ferb was taken aback. “The truth?”

”Yeah,” Phineas breathed out, his breath shaking. “You know how this morning you asked if that thing I was talking about was Orange Thunder?”

Ferb nodded, his eyebrows narrowing.

”It was.” Phineas reached under his mattress, and pulled out the suit. “I’m Orange Thunder.”


	7. Chapter 7

“You don’t seem very surprised, bro.”

Ferb chuckled lightly. “You don’t think I had a clue? You, always sneaking away upstairs when you hear about new villains, avoiding every conversation about him, and being incredibly anxious since the start of this year, when you created him.”

“I…” Phineas was almost speechless. “When did you figure it out?”

“A couple of months ago. All that stuff seemed to be connected, and then it all added up. It just made sense that it was you. Besides, who would have made a hero called Orange Thunder anyway?”

Phineas smiled. “Yeah, well… I dunno, the name just came to me and stuck with me the whole time.”

Ferb studied Phineas’s face in the dimly lit room. “Who else knows?”

“Isabella. But she found out on accident a couple of weeks ago. But I guess it happened for a reason, I mean, she knows me the second best out of everyone I know.”

“Huh,” Ferb murmured, looking at the floor with his chin in his hand. “You need help.”

“I–” Phineas began. 

“Phineas.” Ferb stated. “You could have suffocated to death today. You’re lucky Isabella saved you.”

Phineas looked up. “Wait, how did you…”

“I was there,” he said. “Since I realised it was you I went to as many fights as I could. I began writing a list of things that could help you. I didn’t want to give it to you until you had told me yourself that you were the secret hero of Danville. I didn’t want to assume anything, because you might have been right about it being Django or Irving.”

”Not that it would have been them, neither of them are really competent enough for this.”

”You’re absolutely right,” Ferb said with a smile. “But I’m gonna help you build the best supersuit for you that guarantees a defeat for Metal Schwarz.”

”Ferb,” said Phineas, grinning. “I know what we’re gonna do tomorrow.”

___________________

"Are you all good to start re-working your suit today?" Ferb asked. "Y'know, after being almost killed yesterday."

"Oh, yeah. I should be alright. Isabella's probably gonna come round and see if I'm okay."

Ferb looked down awkwardly. "She is. I told her about what happened last night, and she says she's gonna help with this too."

"I…" Phineas started. "Why did you tell her? I don't want her to worry about me."

"I understand, but she cares about you more than anything. You're very important to her and the fact you almost died yesterday freaked her out a bit. Let her do her thing. You'll appreciate it."

Phineas looked at the floor and sighed. _Gosh. I didn't realise how much I meant to her._ "Alright, I’ll make sure she knows I'm okay."

"That's the spirit! Now, let's have some breakfast and we'll get that superhero souped up."

A couple of bowls of cereal later, the two brothers went into the garage, and lay the suit down on a work bench.

Ferb inspected the rips in the fabric and the place where it had worn. “To he completely honest, I think we should just start from scratch.”

Phineas looked at his brother with disappointment. “Do we really have to? It’s just that… this has been through so much and I don’t want to let that go.”

”You can still keep this suit, I think it’s just easier if we make a whole new one.”

”Phineas!”

The boy in question looked behind him and saw Isabella running into the garage, arms out. She raced up to him and hugged him tightly.

”Oh, Phineas. I’m so glad you’re okay. Ferb told me about what happened last night, I hope everything’s alright.”

”Yeah, yeah, I’m all good,” Phineas said as Isabella let go, holding his hands. “My chest still feels a bit tight, but nothing to worry about. It’ll get better.”

”Aw, well I’m just glad you’re still alive. And I’m also glad you finally told Ferb about… this.”

”Oh, yeah, well I thought the truth was definitely overdue. He’d figured out that it was me ages ago, anyways.”

”Really?” Isabella said, putting her hands on her hips and looking up at Ferb. “Did you actually?”

”It was kind of obvious,” he replied, smirking. “But we should get started on revamping it!”

”You’re right,” said Phineas. “I’ll make a list of things to include, as well as the stuff that’s already there.”

Ferb peered over his brother’s shoulder as his pen scrawled over the page. “Whoa, multiplying? _Force fields?_ That’s ambitious.”

”But not impossible, right?” Phineas said with a hint of hopefulness in his voice.

“The only thing impossible is impossibility,” Isabella said, grinning.

”I’ve taught you well,” Phineas said to her, smiling.

”I think the multiplication might take a while to perfect, but the force fields should be a doddle,” Ferb said, still looking at the list. He got his own paper out and sketched an outline of the suit. “What do you want to look like? This is your chance to do some rebranding.”

Phineas’s eyes lit up. "I know exactly what I wanna do!" He took his pencil and sketched some details onto Ferb's paper. It looked similar to what he already had, and as he added more details Ferb's smile grew.

"What are you smiling at, Ferb?" Isabella asked as she saw his face.

The green-haired teen simply shrugged and continued looking at his brother's design.

Phineas straightened up. "What do you think?" He held up the notepad slightly, and both Isabella and Ferb looked in awe at it.

"I think it's cool!" Isabella exclaimed. "What do you think, Ferb?"

"I can't put it into words exactly how I feel. It definitely screams Orange Thunder though!"

"Let's get to work then!" Phineas smiled, and for the next few hours the three teenagers worked tirelessy in the garage, creating the perfect supersuit.

And suddenly, Phineas felt anxious. "Uh oh," he said, gaining both Isabella and Ferb's attention.

"What's wrong?" Isabella asked, concern in her eyes.

I-- I don't know," Phineas said. "I just got a really bad feeling just now. Like something's wrong."

"Like... _villain_ wrong? Or 'I left my dinner rolls in the oven' wrong?" Ferb asked.

"Definitely not the second one, bro. I've gotta go and see what's up."

"Phineas, you can't!" Isabella cried. "The suit isn't finished!"

"Well, I'll take the old one. Look, I've gotta save Danville again, it's my job."

"I don't want to discourage you from being a superhero; that's the _last_ thing I wanna do. But you won't be safe if you go without your new gear, alright? And I've already told you that I don't want you to get hurt any more than you have."

"Besides," Ferb piped up, "there might not even be a villain. You said it was a gut feeling, and your gut could be wrong."

"Ferb, when have I ever had a gut feeling that was wrong? I'm certain that there's something going on, and I'm also certain that I've gotta stop it."

The green-haired teenager hesitated. "Alright. But we're both coming with you."

____________________

Ferb and Isabella travelled through downtown with Orange Thunder flying above them. The cape flapped behind him, ripped and worn from his last fight, and he saw people in the streets wave at him as he flew overhead. He was still celebrated, and probably more so now that there was a new, more intimidating villain.

Phineas couldn't _see_ anything from his height, but he was still sure that something bad was happening, so he landed back on the ground near his brother and girlfriend. He quickly whipped off his supersuit and met up with the two.

"I can't see _anything_ ," Phineas said, running his hand through his hair. "I was sure of it. I just don't know why."

"Spidey senses," Isabella said, smirking.

"Y'know, even though I know that was a joke, it's honestly not a bad theory. That might actually be the reason I thought there was something going down here."

Ferb's face lit up. "I sense another addition to the suit," he said, grinning.


	8. Chapter 8

"Oh, it looks so good on you! I've fallen in love all over again."

Phineas smiled, and looked back down at his new suit. It was white and orange, with reinforced material and new controls. Ferb had been able to create and perfect the multiplying ability, and the force fields. He was so happy with it, and it redefined who Orange Thunder was. Not just a hero, but a _super_ one.

"Now we just have to wait for my villain," Phineas said, shuffling his feet on the floor.

”Stuff waiting!” Ferb exclaimed. “Go and get him yourself! You’ve got a new suit to test out on him.”

”You’re right!” Phineas grinned, and then his smile faltered. “But I don’t even know where his hideout is.”

”Use the new technology!” Isabella suggested. “Didn’t Ferb literally install a villain tracker?”

”And so he did,” Phineas said, smirking. “Alright, I’m gonna go and find him. Pick a fight. Try and find his weaknesses.” He pulled on his new headpiece. “Activate villain tracker: Metal Schwarz.”

 _”Locating villain,”_ the suit said in his ears. A small map appeared in Phineas’s sight, directing him where to go.

”Alright guys, wish me luck!” Phineas bounded out to the driveway and shot up into the air, flying above the city.

Metal Schwarz’s location was on the other side of town to where Phineas resided, but that was a good thing. It meant that his villain wouldn’t be in close proximity to him and therefore would be less likely to uncover his identity.

 _”Destination on the left in twenty feet,”_ the suit said. Phineas dove down and saw a black house with his villain in the backyard.

_Why the hell is he still in his goddamn villain suit? He’s at home! Isn’t he like… having leisure time?_

Phineas landed on the grass behind a thick tree in the backyard, making a slight rustling noise. Metal Schwarz didn’t seem to hear anything, to Phineas’s relief.

The villain got up off his squeaky lawnchair and Phineas sneakily tip-toed up behind him, tapping him on the shoulder.

The metal-boned man seemed surprised to see the small orange hero behind him. “Orange Thunder? What on Earth are you doing here?”

”Well, I got a new suit and I wanna test it out. Say, why are you still in yours? Aren’t you leisuring?”

”I _was,”_ the villain said, gruffly. "But I was prepared for your visit. My suit never leaves my person."

"Wait, so you're always on villain duty?"

"Yeah, that's my job," he said, getting up off his lawnchair. "Aren't you always on hero duty?"

Phineas hesitated. "Uh... no, not always. I've got another life away from being a superhero." He immediately tensed up, realising what kind of information he had given his villain.

"Another life? So your secret identity is of equal or more value to you?"

"No," Phineas lied, trying to remain strong. "Hero work always comes first for me."

"Alright then. How about putting that new suit to the test then?"

"Sounds good to me!" Phineas said, putting his fists up.

It was clear to Phineas after a few minutes of fighting that his villain was struggling against his new powers. The multiplication had thrown him off, as well as the orange force fields.

Phineas had managed to win this fight by surprising Metal Schwarz with a powerful knockout using his forcefields. The villain hadn’t been able to get up but was still able to speak.

”I’ll get my revenge, Thunder. Just you wait!”

Phineas chuckled as he launched back into the air, flying home. What danger could he have possibly posed?

______________________

The teen hero landed back in his backyard, seeing Ferb and Isabella in the kitchen. He took off his headpiece and entered the house.

Isabella put her drink on the bench and walked over to him as she saw him come in. "Hey, how did it go?"

"Good," he replied. "Knocked him out almost cold."

"Oh, that's good," Isabella said. "Want some juice?"

"Sure, that'd be great! I'm just gonna change out of my suit, quickly." He darted upstairs and pulled off the stretchy orange garment. He checked the skin all over his body, and to his contentment, his skin was clear of bruises and scratches. _Ferb's a genius, I'm still wondering why I didn't ask him for help before._

He sat on his bed, feeling his stomach churn. Something bad was definitely about to happen, but he couldn't tell either Ferb or Isabella about it. He didn't want to burden them with that.

Pulling on a shirt, he breathed out slowly and heavily. He held up his suit, gently folding it to put it in its new place; the bottom drawer of his nightstand. It was safer in there, and had less chance of getting damaged from being under his mattress.

He then quickly stepped back downstairs, and took the juice Isabella had poured for him in his absence. "Thanks, babe." He kissed her on top of her head, putting an arm around her.

Ferb checked his phone after he heard a chime. "Oh, Baljeet wants me to come round. See you two later?"

"Uh, alright. Tell him we say hi, yeah?"

Ferb raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement, and exited out the back door.

Phineas looked down at Isabella. "Well, well, we're alone now--"

He was interrupted by a chime from Isabella's phone. "Aw, I'm sorry, Phineas," she said. "Mom wants me to help out at the restaurant."

"That's okay," he said. "Go help."

"Okay. I'll call you later. Bye,” she said softly, kissing him on the cheek before leaving out the front door.

Phineas sighed in her absence. Metal Schwarz had been thwarted for the day, and now his brother and girlfriend were busy. He was already lonely.

He dragged himself up the stairs and flopped onto his bed, realising how tired he was from the fight. He pulled out his laptop, put on a movie, and fell asleep almost instantly.

________________

Phineas was startled awake when his brother - rather aggressively - opened the bedroom door.

”Jeez,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “You could have done that a little more quietly.”

”Sorry, I didn’t realise you were asleep. What happened to Isabella?”

Phineas sighed quietly. “She had to go help her mom at the restaurant.”

”That’s a shame,” Ferb said, pulling his shoes off and tossing them into a corner.

”Yeah, but it’s okay. She said she’s gonna call me when she gets home.” Phineas sat up and checked his phone. “Yikes, I was out for like 3 hours!”

“Must have been a tiring fight,” Ferb replied, gesturing vaguely with his hand. “Do you want to add some more stuff to the suit?”

”Nah, it’s okay,” Phineas said. “Although I am kinda annoyed that it took one day to make a suit that took me six months.”

”We work better as a team, remember?”

”Yeah,” Phineas smiled. “I guess we do.”

_________________

The minutes on the clock kept increasing. It was past 10, and the restaurant closed at 9.30. Isabella would have been home by now.

Phineas huffed. Did Isabella still care about him? No, of course she did, maybe she got too tired or forgot to ring him when she got home.

”Everything okay?” Ferb asked after hearing his brother feeling agitated.

”Isabella hasn’t called me yet. Do you think I should call her instead?”

Ferb shrugged. “Perhaps.”

Phineas dialled her number, and heard it go straight to voicemail. “Her phone must be off,” he said. “Maybe she went to bed already.” His stomach churned with anxiety and reluctance’s 

”Maybe. But don’t worry, I’m sure she’s fine.”


	9. Chapter 9

“Something’s definitely up,” Phineas said, pacing his room. “Izzy’s not answering my calls or texts. She always answers. Every time.”

The next morning had come, and Phineas had had a restless sleep, thinking about Isabella and her safety.

“Hey, don’t overthink this,” Ferb said. “I’m sure that she’s okay. She was a Fireside girl. She can handle hersel--”

“I know!” Phineas snapped. “I know she did that! I know she can handle herself! But it’s just that… I’m scared for her.” He sat down on his bed, wringing his hands with anxiety.

“What do you mean?”

Phineas sighed. “When I came back from Metal Schwarz’s yesterday, I kinda had the feeling something bad was gonna happen. And the reason I didn’t want to tell you was because I didn’t want you two to worry. But, I guess now _I’m_ worried about it.”

“Hey, hey. Take some deep breaths. Relax. I know that there’s a pretty intense villain out there, but Isabella will be able to handle herself for a good amount of time.”

Phineas paused, pushing his hand through his hair, and grimaced. “… I’m going there.”

Fern stood up quickly. “Where?”

”Metal Schwarz’s hideout.”

”Phineas, what if she’s not there? Then you just turn up at his house demanding an unnecessary fight. She may just be busy.”

”But what if she _is_ there, Ferb? Am I just supposed to leave her with my nemesis? No way,” he said, pulling on his suit. “I’m going. I just have an awful feeling about this.”

”Alright, well, I’ll come with you.”

”What, and risk you getting hurt too? I don’t want the two most important people to me to get hurt.” He pulled on the headpiece. “I’m not strong enough for that.” He crouched on the windowsill, ready for take-off. “I’ll see you when I get back.”

The teen hero shot into the sky, leaving Ferb slouched in the window filled with anxiety. “But he could get hurt too.”

__________________

“Locate villain, Metal Schwarz,” Phineas said as he flew across town. His heart began to race with adrenaline and anxiety. He really didn’t know if Isabella was going to be there or not.

 _”Villain located,”_ The suit said, showing a map on Phineas’s eyeline.

”He’s at Danville mountain? Alright, guess so. Oh uh, Suit, are you able to locate other people too?”

_”Yes, yes I can. Is there anybody you’d like to find the location of?”_

”Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, please.”

 _“Locating Isabella Garcia-Shapiro,”_ The suit replied, making a small scanning sound as it searched.

A map popped up. _Uh oh,_ Phineas thought.

________________

The metal-boned villain was kept busy making some sort of weapon while Isabella squirmed in her trap. Her hands were tied behind her, her ankles clamped together with rope and held up in mid-air, just above the ground with an anti-gravity invention.

She wanted so desperately to call for her hero, but her phone was at home, switched off, and she couldn’t open her mouth due to a very thick layer of duct tape plastered on her lips. All she could do was look around the room and think of a way to somehow escape by herself.

_I’m a Fireside girl! Well, ex-Fireside girl, really. I can do this! I have knot-untying patches and an anti-gravity patch. Just not a defeating-an-evil-villain one._

A small thud on the floor of the dim lair caught both Isabella and Metal Schwarz’s attention. A gasp was heard from the source of the thud.

”Isabella!” Phineas cried, jogging over to her. He stopped in his tracks when an invisible wall blocked his path.

”Not so fast, hero,” the villain sneered. “That girl is mine.”

”No, she isn’t,” Phineas said sharply. “She doesn’t belong to anyone. Nobody does. But let her go, please. She didn’t do anything to harm you.”

”I know.” Metal Schwarz said. “But she was bait. And you fell straight into it.”

Phineas huffed. “I knew it.”

”It’s only the most cliché trope in any hero versus villain stint _ever!_ But the idea struck me when she stood up for you that day I destroyed your lungs. She just seemed a little bit closer than your usual ‘biggest fan’. So I kept tabs on her.”

Phineas looked at Isabella with sorrow. She looked at him back with guilt.

”She seemed to be around her mother a lot, and a boy named Phineas. I knew him already, because everyone knows the Fabulous Phineas Flynn of Danville. _Everyone._ I knew he was capable of making extraordinary things in a very short amount of time. And well, when I tried to reveal your identity to the city, Isabella stopped me. I wonder why?”

”I-I…” Phineas stuttered.

”She already knew who he was. That’s why your suit is new. That’s why she wanted to protect you and not let you get hurt. So, I suppose it would make sense that you’re Phineas, huh? Take off that mask of yours and let me know for real!”

Isabella murmered anxiously under her duct tape. Phineas grimaced and slowly pulled off his headpiece.

”Now that you know who I am, you have to let Isabella go.”

Metal Schwarz chuckled. “Oh, I knew it was you a while ago. I was just wondering how big of a threat you needed to reveal yourself. Turns out it wasn’t so big!” He laughed again. “But I suppose I could make you an offer.”

Phineas’s eyebrows narrowed.

“If I keep your secret, I won’t let Isabella go. But if I do let her go, I’ll reveal your identity to the whole Tri-State Area. Everyone will know that it’s Phineas fucking Flynn who’s behind all this. And, maybe if I’m feeling evil enough, I’ll mess you up. Make you look bad. Phineas Flynn mightn’t be so fabulous after this.”

Phineas’s heart started racing. His eyebrows were still furrowed. His lips tightened up in anger.

”Looks like you’ve got a bit of a decision to make. Don’t worry, there’s still a bit of time left til this place is destroyed. Isabella might be stuck in here still.”

”Let her go.”

The villain was taken aback. “Whoa-- that didn’t take long at all. Alright, I guess you can have your girlfriend back. In which time I will be leaving, and you won’t be able to stop me. Ha!” He laughed as he left the cave with his gear.

Isabella fell to the floor as her restrictions were released. Phineas rushed over to her, removing the tape and the ropes from her hand and ankles.

”Phineas… what about your identity?”

”Are you kidding me? Saving you was way more important.”

Isabella smiled softly, gazing into his eyes as she stood up.

“Besides, I never wanted to do this hero thing forever. Sure, it’s nice to save people but this guy took all the fun out of it.”

”How are you gonna get him back?”

”Don’t worry, I’ve been thinking of a plan. He forgot just one little detail.”

_____________________

Phineas helped Isabella through the bedroom window again, and greeted Ferb who was sitting on his bed, cracking his knuckles out of boredom.

”Oh, thank goodness you’re alright,” Ferb said, hugging her. “I was very worried about you, especially after Phineas left.”

The teen in question climbed through the open window and started breathing very heavily and quickly. “We’ve gotta stop Schwarz,” he puffed.

”Yeah, no shit,” Ferb replied. “What did you have in mind?”

Phineas smiled, looking his brother up and down. “Ferb Fletcher, do you want to be a hero?”

Ferb’s face fell. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

Phineas shook his head, still smiling. “Nuh-uh. The only way that he’s going down is by banding together, otherwise it’s just me _again._ Besides, he totally forgot about you when he did his whole reveal speech before. You’re the secret weapon, bro.”

”Please,” Isabella said. “I almost died today.”

Ferb sighed, looking at both of them. “Okay, I’ll do it. But on one condition.”

”Huh?”

”We make Isabella a hero too.”

Phineas’s face lit up, and he grinned at his girlfriend. “How about it, Izzy? You want to?”

”Well, I guess if it’ll help you guys… I will.”

”Yes!” Phineas cheered. “Let’s go down to the garage and get to work! But uh, we’ve gotta hurry. Schwarz is already on the move and is probably spouting about my true identity as we speak.”

The three teenagers hurried downstairs and ran through the house into the garage. Ferb began by measuring Isabella for her suit while Phineas sketched some designs.

”Do you two want the same powers as me?”

Ferb brushed his hand in the air at his brother. “Let me handle that, just get a drawing done and chuck us some names.”

”Alright,” Phineas said as he scribbled on the sketchbook. “I dub thee Magenta Lightning and Emerald Rain.”

Ferb couldn’t help but smile. “Those are actually really good. Who’s who?”

”I think you can guess.”


End file.
